Page 27 of I’d Never Date my Best Friend…Again

“Careful.” I lurch forward to grab Penny’s arm as she missteps and almost stumbles. She rights herself immediately, displaying experience honed from years on the terrain. She cranes her neck and flashes me a smile. My heart clenches at how beautiful she is.

“Thank you,” she says. I grunt as she turns away to continue moving.

My heart beats a bit faster and every inch of me is hyper aware of the woman in front of me. When I left for the Army, and she stopped talking to me, I found a way to cope with the heartbreak. Distance allowed me to push my feelings for her aside. But the first time I saw her again, the wall I erected around my heart came crashing down.

Is it possible that therapy and time can help me to be worthy of this beautiful, amazing woman? Our almost kiss plays through my mind, and I shake the thought out of my head.

You need to take this slow, Liam, for you and for her.

Penny stops and picks one of the many wildflowers that grow around here and brings it up to her nose. I can’t help but admire her profile. The flower is a shooting star, which is of the primrose family, but I can’t remember if it’s Jeffrey or Henderson.

“Which one is that?” I ask, just as she inhales its scent.

“Jeffrey,” she responds. “Henderson’s have multiple leaves; Jeffrey has the long one.”

“That’s right.”

Being here with her brings up so many memories, and I can’t help but feel disappointment for the past. Everything between us was perfect, but I tore it apart by joining the Army.

The lick of a wet tongue interrupts my musings, and I glance down to see round black eyes blinking at me. Tex wags his tail happily when I turn my attention to him, and his joyfulness brings a reluctant smile to my face.

“He’s a special dog, isn’t he?”

I glance up at Penny, leaning against a tree, watching Tex and me.

“Yes, he is.”

She shakes her head and laughs. “You never used to like dogs, remember?”

“I’m aware.”

My short sentences don't deter her. Instead, she slides to the ground and continues talking.

“Whenever I brought up having a pet, you were always set against it. Can you tell me what changed that?”

I meet her gaze. “A lot,” I force out, her gaze never leaving mine. “I’m not the same man.”

“Will you tell me how you got Tex?” She asks, before sitting on a log.

“Sean.”

“Sean?” Penny echoes. “Your brother?”

I mirror her sitting position. “He thought I needed—company.”

“Was he right?”

I shrug, focusing my gaze on a hanging vine a short distance away. “I would never admit it to him, but he was. Tex has helped me in ways that I never dreamed possible.”

Penny continues to look at me without saying a word. Her soft gaze draws me out and prompts me to open up in a way I haven’t for a while.

“Sean knew I was struggling. He also knew that human company would irritate me. So he took it upon himself to get me an emotional support dog. I laughed at him when he initially suggested it, and thwarted him every step of the way. But he’s so stubborn. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“I guess that’s a trait that runs in all the O’Connell men,” she says teasingly. I eye her playfully but don’t give in to her ribbing.

“I’ll be forever grateful he didn’t listen to me. You have to promise me not to say that to him, or he’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Penny giggles and zips her lips, then pretends to lock them and throw away the key. “I’m grateful for Tex, too.”

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